As a Professor of Audiology at Macquarie University, and located within the Australian Hearing Hub - a university-industry partnership - I have a unique opportunity to work within a collaborative model that spans research, education, and knowledge translation. Currently, I am working with the WHO to develop the World Report on Hearing, and I am a commissioner on the recently announced Lancet Commission for Global Hearing Health, which has afforded me a global perspective of our field.
Audiology in Australia has a similar scope of practice to other Western countries. Some of the challenges that we face are probably not unique; hearing clinics often operate as a hybrid between a business and a healthcare model, which is a delicate balance to maintain. Australia arguably has one of the best newborn hearing screening programmes worldwide. This is, in part, due to the strong collaboration across the different organisations which detect hearing loss, diagnose and manage hearing loss, and those which deliver early intervention. Perhaps one of our greatest challenges is to effectively address the very high rates of chronic otitis media in our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Latest Contribution
Adult hearing screening: consideration for a holistic model
Background Adult-onset hearing impairment is a highly prevalent and undertreated chronic problem that poses a significant burden of disease worldwide [1]. It is usually gradual and diagnosed and managed approximately 10 years after adults have first experienced hearing difficulties [2]....
